


AvatarStuck

by SedofRan



Series: AvatarStuck [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Homestuck
Genre: Avatarstuck, F/M, I don't know, I will have to see how things go, M/M, May have erisol, Not sure if I want to put romance in this or not., or gamkat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 23:53:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9264674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SedofRan/pseuds/SedofRan
Summary: Everything has changed since Karkat found out that he was the Avatar. After being hidden away in the countryside of the Fire Nation for years with his brother, he discovers that he is the Avatar and his nation is calling upon him to end the war (which they started). He is forced to abandon his brother to escape the soldiers that come to collect him, promising to travel to the Southern Water Tribe and start his Avatar trials.Along his way to mastering the elements and ending the war, he gathers a group of teachers; two waterbenders and an earth bender. On the search for an airbender, he fatally looses one of his teachers. Faced with his first encounter with death at the ends of the Fire Nation since he left his brother, he worries about Kankri's fate. Face with the fate of the world and the fear for his brother's life, he is unsure of what to do.A few months after the loss of his teacher, Karkat hears of a man/creature with a bird mask that can control all four elements; a fake avatar.A fake avatar that only leaves death and destruction in his wake.(This summary isn't very good at all, but it is hard to write without giving anything away).





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I am not abandoning my fairytalestuck stories. I am still dedicated to them and am so sorry that I haven't updated them in a long time. I got busy with school and Christmas, but I plan to not only update Karkat's story within the next week or so, but I also want to make a fanart "story" where I will put the fanart for the... stories... (I don't think there is a simpler way to explain this).  
> This is really short, but the later chapters will be longer.

“Amit it,” the man in black hissed, the multiple voices that came from beneath his mask concealing his true one. “Tell them what you did.”  
“I-I don’t know what you are talking about.” Water lifted with her hands as the girl took a step back, forming a shield between her companions and the beast before her. She briefly took notice of Karkat and Sollux stepping closer to her.  
“Tell these people- your friends – what you did to the boy.” The feathered cloak parted as a gloved hand reached for the water. It froze and shattered under his delicate touch.  
“What is he talking about,” Karkat asked, never taking his dark eyes off of the masked man before them. “What did you do?”  
“Thhe diidn’t do anythiing!” Sollux scowled. “Thiith guy iith jutht tryiing to turn uth agaiintht each other.”  
The man in black took a step closer.  
“Thay back!” Sollux slammed his foot into the ground. A pillar of stone shot out, speeding towards the masked man.  
With his outstretched hand, the man caught the stone and crushed it. “Admit what you have done. Tell them of your sins.”  
“What is going on?” Karkat turned his eyes towards the girl. “You need to start explaining.”  
She shook her head, pulling at a thick lock of brown hair. “I… I don’t-”  
The girl was cut off as the man before them held up his hand. Three fingers, long and clawed, pointed upwards. “Three sins. Three betrayals.” The hand dropped, falling back into his cloak. “Eridan Ampora suffered three betrayals from you, Feferi Peixes. Three betrayals that led to his death.”


	2. A Day in the Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not been able to write at all for a long time, but my college semester is over now (yay!) so I plan to be writing more now. I will be updating fairytalestuck and this one again soon. I'm sorry for the long wait. Updates will be coming out much faster now (hopefully).

War and fire was his life; it was all he had ever known. Being born at the start of a 13-year war, in the nation that started it in the first place, made it an impossible thing to ignore in daily life. Growing up, Karkat was surrounded by fire, war, and pride; pride for his nation, pride for their fires.  
Karkat didn’t hold the same pride as others in his nation did. He puts the blame for that partially on his older brother, Kankri. Not too long after his fourth year, Kankri had taken Karkat out of the public eye. He had taken him out of his preschool and moved them out to the countryside of their nation, claiming himself as Karkat’s guardian, teacher, and sole companion.   
Karkat was not pleased, to say the least.  
Every day was the same for nine years since the move. He would be awoken early in the morning by his brother, get a lecture about the importance of going to bed at a proper time and not letting the day go to waste so easily, eat with his brother, get taught with his brother, eat with him again, learn more with his brother, eat dinner, have a bit of free time alone, and then go to bed. The next day was just a clone of the previous, aside from the extra moments of free time the Kankri gave him every now and then, or that he took for himself by hiding from the loud mouth boy. He didn’t have friends or visitors. He had Kankri.  
If anyone ever turned up on their doorstep, Kankri would order him to hide in their basement until whoever appeared left. Even if it was just a passerby who needed directions, Kankri would still hide him and pretend he wasn’t there, not that Karkat was ever brought up in mention anyway. After they left, his brother would let him back up and pet his head, running his long fingers through his white locks with a look on his face that Karkat never really understood. It was as if Kankri had just got him back from somewhere far away.   
Every day was Kankri and no one else. The only true break that the thirteen-year-old got from his brother was the rare occasion that Kankri needed to go into town to pick up what their garden couldn’t provide. Karkat enjoyed those precious hours of freedom, even if the freedom was still locked inside of their small cottage. He had tried to convince Kankri to take him on his excursions, trying to play it off even as a learning experience, but he was always denied.   
“I just don’t see why I have to stay here and do fuck all while you go out,” Karkat hissed, flicking a stray pea across the table. “Hell, I’ll even let you talk my ear off about the customs of the market or the vegetable heritage of whatever… and I’ll only curse you verbally five—six times.”  
“Do not swear,” Kankri responded as he continued to get his pack ready, “and don’t play with your food. There are people out there in the world that do not have enough food to eat on a daily basis, whether that is because they are in an area where food is scarce, they have not the coinage to offered it, or their family is afflicted with some other cause that keeps their pantries and stomachs empty. It is very disrespectful and wrong for you to just ignore their plight just because you have decided that the food would better serve a purpose as-”  
Kankri was cut off as his brother slammed his forehead into the tabletop, causing more food to fall from his plate and roll along the table. “Just fucking leave, you shitsponge.” He shooed him off with a lazy wave of his hand. “At least I can have a few hours of silence while you are gone. Thank the fucking fuck-fuck-fuck gods.”  
Kankri nibbled his lower lip, taking a deep breath in order to stop himself from commenting on Karkat’s foul language again. “I expect you to have the next chapter in the book finished by the time I get back,” he stated, slipping his pack over his lanky form. “You can get a head start on the chapter after that once you are done. We will be covering it tomorrow after breakfast.”  
“Sure. I would love to do that. I can’t possibly think of anything that I would rather do with my free time, my very rare free time, than to read a book on the history of our nation. I get fucking shivers running up my spine at just thinking about all those words boring into my spongey brain and definitely don’t think about burning everything to the ground after dousing myself in gasoline.” He hit his head against the table once more for emphasis. “Please leave so that I can embrace the joy that is my fucking life.”  
Kankri checked over his pack’s contents one last time. “Remember, if anyone comes to the house, you need to-”  
“Stay quiet, go into the basement, and pretend that I don’t exist.” Karkat sighed, sitting up again. “Surprisingly, after nine damn years, I did learn those things.”  
His older brother sighed, playing with a frayed edge of the bag. “I know that you don’t like this lifestyle of ours, but one day you will see why we have to be this way. One day, you will be ready to know and, hopefully, be ready to understand.” He turned from his younger brother, heading towards the door. “Sadly, I don’t think that day will come for a long time. In fact, I rather hope that it doesn’t.”  
With that being said, the boy left, leaving the house in silence behind him. Karkat made his way over to the window, watching as Kankri strode down the dirt path to where their ostrichhorse, Krabdad, was waiting. Hoisting himself up onto the beast, Kankri sent one last glance towards the house before he took off. In a matter of minutes, he was out of sight.   
***  
Karkat was aroused his nap by two sharp raps against the front door, startling him into dropping the book that laid open on his chest. Taking a glance out the window, Karkat could see that the sun was just beginning to set, meaning that Kankri was due back any time now. The knocks came again, louder this time as the person behind the wooden panel became impatient. The boy silently picked up and placed the book onto a nearby table as he rose to his feet.  
The door was ripped from its hinges in an instant, slamming against the backwall in a flurry of flames. Karkat’s red eyes widened as his breath caught in his lungs, staring at the singed door just ahead of him.   
“Karkat Vantas,” a woman’s voice said behind him followed by the clicks of metal boots drawing closer, “do not attempt to run from us.”  
Turning towards the voice, he was met with the sight of four fire nation soldiers, fully armored and training their eyes on him. The only woman inched closer to him, fists raised in a ready stance for instant flames, should the firebender find the need for them. “Why would I need to run?” Karkat asked, holding his hands up. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”  
“We know that you haven’t.” The woman said. “Not you, anyway.”  
A lump formed in his throat, making it hard to breath. “What… what do you mean by that?”  
The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you not know?”  
“Not know what?” Karkat asked, resisting the urge to step back from the approaching soldiers. “Why are you here?”  
The woman looked towards her companions, getting a nod from them before turning back to Karkat, lowering her fists. “The fire nation has been looking for you for thirteen years, Vantas. We are at war and we need every advantage that we can get.”  
Karkat shook his head. They weren’t going to make him enlist were they? No. That wouldn’t make sense if they have been looking for him for thirteen years. “What does that have to do with me?”  
“You really don’t know, do you?” the firenation soldier shook her head. “That brother of yours has not only wronged his nation, but his family too. I guess it would be easier to hide you if you didn’t know who you were either.”  
Karkat took a step forward, lowering his hands into tight fists by his side. “What does Kank-” The boy was cut off by the sound of Krabdad racing up the path.   
“Karkat!” Kankri shouted as he appeared in the doorway, gasping for air. His white locks stuck to his sweat slicked forehead as his eyes darted to the people in the room with them.  
“Kankri Vantas,” one of the men said, reaching behind himself for the pair of cuffs hooked to his belt, “you are under arrest for treason against your nation and the kidnapping of the avatar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not been able to write at all for a long time, but my college semester is over now (yay!) so I plan to be writing more now. I will be updating fairytalestuck and this one again soon. I'm sorry for the long wait. Updates will be coming out much faster now (hopefully).


	3. I Am What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not been able to update anything in a long time. I am so sorry for that. I was prepared to update months ago, but then my life got turned upside down and became my own personal Gotham episode. Then school started and I had no time...  
> I will try to update a few of my stories this weekend to make up for the lack. Most of the new chapters are already written, I just never had the time to actually upload them.

“Kankri?” Karkat questioned, watching as his brother’s face grew more pale. “What are they talking about?”

For once in his life, Kankri was speechless. His mouth opened and shut, but no words came out.

“We have been searching the Fire Nation for you for many years, Karkat Vantas.” The woman came close to him, arms down by her side in a relaxed position. “In the time of war, we tried to find the next avatar amongst our people, since we were the next nation in the line. Near your fourth year, a neighbor of yours saw you manipulate the elements without even noticing it. By the time my division arrived to investigate whether it was true or a heat hallucination, your brother had snatched you up and disappeared.”

“Karkat,” Kankri said, stepping forward, “I-”

“Silence,” one of the men commanded, grabbing a fistful of white locks and pulling Kankri’s head back, exposing his neck to the flame held just shy of his skin.

“Get your fucking hands off of my brother!” Karkat rushed forward, but was stopped by the woman stepping in front of him.

“Your brother is a wanted criminal,” she stated calmly. “Not only did he kidnap you and keep you from your avatar duties, but he planned to raise you against us. Once you became of age, he planned to sell you to one of the opposing nations to use as a weapon against our’s.”

“Don’t believe them, Karkat!” Kankri shouted, straining against the hand holding his head back. “You know that I would never do that to you. Everything that I have done, I have done with only the purpose of protec-”

“I said to shut up.” The flame was brought closer to Kankri’s face, making him flinch away.

“My name is Akane.” The woman, Akane, stepped to the side again, blocking the sight of Kankri. “My job is to protect you from people like him and to take you to the palace. Normally, an avatar wouldn’t start their training so early in their years, but we cannot hold back during times of war. We need you, Karkat Vantas. We need the avatar.”

Karkat’s red eyes stared up into her’s. Her smile was kind and warm, much like what he imagined his mother’s would have been, had she survived the early stages of the war, but it did not reach her eyes. Coal-like eyes examined him, calculating his every breath and twitch as if they held the very fate of the future in their motions. He resisted the urge to back away from her, seeing as that would just trap him against a wall with nowhere else for him to go if she decided that the nice approach wasn’t working.

“Avatar.” The woman’s eyes narrowed. “I must insist that you come with us to meet with the royal family. We need to start your training immediately. The fate of the whole world does rest on your shoulders. You don’t want to be unprepared for that responsibility, do you?” Taking his silence as an answer, she reached forward to grab his arm.

“Karkat!” Kankri, with his hand bound behind his back, kicked his legs up. Flames rose from the tips of his pointed toes, running across the faces of his captures. The men shied away from the sudden fire, dropping their guards just enough for the teenager to break free. “Karkat! Run!”

The thirteen-year-old’s heart leapt into his throat as his body moved faster than his mind. One step then two, he found himself halfway out the front door before he could register that he was actually running away from Fire Nation soldiers. He heard the scuffle behind him as they got over the surprise of fire and rushed to come after him. He wasn’t even sure that his brother was with him until a pair of cuffed hands grasped the back of his shirt and threw him onto Krabdad, giving him no chance to adjust before a larger body joined him on the beast and set it off in a mad dash.

“Faster, Krabdad,” Kankri commanded, digging his heels into the animal’s sides to convince it to pick up a faster pace. A plume of dust was all that remained of them as they sped down the path, past the fields of growing crops and abandoned fields. Karkat glanced back over his shoulder to see if they were being followed yet.

He watched wide widening eyes as his home for the last nine years went up in flames.

***

“Kankri.”

Karkat got no response from his oddly silent brother.

“Kankri,” he tried again, a little more forcefully. Nudging him with his elbow.

He was ignored again.

Grinding his teeth, the boy pushed off of the ostrich horse, rolling on the ground to a stop. Kankri tugged on the reins, leaping off after his younger brother immediately.

“Karkat!” He scolded, rushing over to him. “You must never jump off of a running animal like that. If you had landed incorrectly, you may have broken or dislocated a limb, or worse snapped your neck. Or perhaps you would have landed on a rock or, god forbid, someone else and caused damage to-”

“Shut up!” Karkat screamed, silencing his brother. “Shut up already, you shit-fucker. I am done hearing your annoying fucking mouth running on and on about a million things that I don’t give a shit about, but have apparently been quiet about the most important thing that I actually need to know.” He stood up and tried to appear taller than he actually was. “I am getting answers now, before I even fucking contemplate getting on that fucking ostrich horse a-fucking-gain.”

“We cannot stay here, Karkat.” Kankri tentatively took a step forward. “I am sure that they are not far behind us and I don’t think that I can get us away again if they do catch us once more.”

“No!” Karkat screamed. “No! I am getting my fucking answers! I want the fucking truth. I mean… fuck!” He ran his hands through his hair, tugging on the thick locks. “You are a firebender? Why didn’t I fucking know that you were a firebender? That I was a firebender? That I was the god damn, motherfucking Avatar? What the fuck else have you been hiding from me?”

“We don’t have time for this,” Kankri tried to say again. “You don’t know what is going to happen if they find you again.”

“Kankri!” Karkat grasped the chain binding his brother’s wrists together and shook them aggressively. “You are in fucking chains for fuck’s sake. I need to know why you moved us out to the middle of fucking nowhere and why they are saying you wanted to fucking sell me!”

“I wouldn’t.” Kankri held his brother’s hands tightly in his own. “I… the Fire Nation wants to weaponize you to win the war they started. I couldn’t… when I found out that you were… I had to protect you. After Father died, it became my responsibility to make sure nothing would ever happen to you.”

“You don’t get a say in my life!” Karkat jerked away from him. “You lied to me for years. You hid me from the world for fucking years! FUCK! How am I even suppose to believe you right now? Why should I believe anything that come from your god damn mouth right now?”

“Karkat.” Kankri’s eyes were drawn to something behind Karkat. “You need to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Karkat crossed his arms over his chest.

“Please,” Kankri begged. “Take Krabdad and head towards the cost. Please. You need to get away from the Fire Nation. Go to the Southern Water Tribe in the South Pole and look for a man named Cronus. He and his father will answer your questions to the best of their abilities.”

Karkat stared at his brother, mouth agape. “The South Pole?” He questioned. “I’m not going to the South Pole. You have never let me go to the market before, but you want me to now go by myself across the fucking ocean? Are you fucking serious?”

“Please.” Kankri pulled Karkat towards Krabdad. “There isn’t much time. You need to leave right now.”

Karkat caught a glimpse of a dust cloud in the distance, which he could only assume were his pursuers. “Get on the fucking ostrich horse, Kankri.”

Kankri smiled faintly and shook his head. “I’m not going with you this time. I’ll just draw unnecessary attention to us with these.” He rattled the chains. “Besides, I have to make sure I give you enough time to get to the docks. If someone doesn’t stay behind, you will never make it there before they catch up to you. Krabdad can only go so fast and he needs his breaks to regain his strength because it is important that you do not push him, or yourself, past your-”

“Get on!” Karkat grabbed the chain and pulled him forward. “If you think I am going to let you sacrifice yourself just so you don’t have to answer my fucking question, you are out of your god damn shit-sponge mind, you fucking idiot.”

“I apologize for this, Krabdad.” Before Karkat could fully understand what had been said, Kankri delivered a sharp slap to the rump of Krabdad. The ostrich horse screeched before digging its claws into the dirt. Karkat held tight to his neck to keep from being thrown off as Krabdad set off in a mad dash.

Kankri watched sadly as his brother became nothing more than a faint dot on the horizon as he wiped a stray tear from his face. Unable to see him anymore, the teenager closed and eyes and turned to await his fate.


	4. Get A Ship, Steal A Ship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry that I haven't updated everything in so long. My mother got in a car accident and unfortunately passed, so I couldn't find the time, nor the will, to write for so long. And then I had to jump right back into school and catch up with everything that I missed during the mourning period. I don't want to make a promise to update more, because every time I have said that, I haven't been able to actually uphold the promise. I promise to try though. Sorry again.

Finding passage to the South Pole was difficult at best, finding it from the Fire Nation without preparing for a battle was near impossible. And it wasn’t like he could just walk around and call out in the marketplace to see if there were any available vessels there. They were in the middle of a war and no one would be able to turn a blind eye to a young boy with an ostrich horse asking to be taken to the icy plains were waterbenders were ready and waiting to strike anything even remotely wearing the Fire Nation colors. He would be found by the eyes, the always searching eyes, in an instant.

“What the fuck do you think you are looking at?” Karkat hissed, pulling Krabdad by the reins closer to him as he bared his teeth at a group of fishermen that stopped their dirty jokes and boisterous laughter to stare at him in silence. He wondered if they knew. Did they know more about himself than he did? That did seem to be the theme of the day… night… whatever.

The fishermen said nothing in return. Their eyes darted between themselves before falling back on the boy. The biggest one took a step forward, eyes narrowing as he reached out with dirty, stubby fingers. His mouth opened…

Karkat didn’t wait to hear what was going to be said, much less to be caught by drunken men that may or may not know who he was. He clicked his tongue twice, using a nearby crate to push himself high enough to leap onto Krabdad’s back as the creature suddenly raced forward, leaving the group of men behind as the pair disappeared in the darkness.

Seeing that they had successfully gotten away, Karkat stroked Krabdad’s neck. “Slow down,” he whispered, red eyes darting around the quiet docks. “We don’t need to draw any more attention.” The ostrich horse listened, slowing down its pace to a gentle trot.

The sun had fallen long ago and most were deep in slumber. Few strayed along the streets, and even fewer wandered anywhere near the docks at this time. There was an occasional drunkard or late night worker, even a patrol or two, but it was easy enough to hide from them so long as he knew someone was coming before they realized that someone else was there. His bright hair was a little difficult to hide, but he managed with a dark cloak that he had swiped earlier from an open market. He could practically hear Kankri lecturing him about not stealing, especially from a hardworking merchant, but it wasn’t like he had any money to leave behind for it.

He tried to keep his mind off of his elder brother, not wanting to think about the fate that awaited him. He wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. They do not cuff a dead man, right? Karkat shook his head. No. Kankri would be fine. He would be put in a jail cell for a couple days and then be released after his big mouth annoyed the guards enough. Then he would send word for Karkat to return and tell him how all of this was a big misunderstanding.

“He was spotted this way,” a voice said from ahead, snapping him out of his train of thought. He nudged Krabdad lightly with his knees, guiding him to a pile of crates to the side that were stacked high enough to hide them if they got as low as possible. He pulled the hood of his cloak up, covering his white locks as he held his breath and waited for the group of guards to pass.

“Those fools were drunk off their asses,” another stated, keeping match with the pace of the first one who spoke. “They could have told me that they saw a dragon and it would have had the same amount of believability.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Their voice grew dim as they moved farther away. “We have to find him and it will be our heads if he gets away because we decided not to follow a questionable lead.” The soldier snapped her fingers and pointed at the third firebender. “Make sure there are no ships leaving port without being thoroughly searched. Check the cargo, the holding cells, the captain’s quarters… hell, check the bottom of the god damn boats. Find him.”

The group moved on, disappearing into the shadows in the distance. Karkat waited a few beats before emerging from his hiding place. “Shit,” he whispered. “We need to get out now before they get a fucking blockade set up.”

Krabdad huffed, scratching his feet against the wooden planks of the pier. Without waiting for Karkat to give any sort of command, the ostrich horse plowed forward, heading towards the water. “Krabdad,” Karkat whispered, tugging on the reins fruitlessly. Krabdad ignored him and continued onwards, eyes set on a prize.

They finally came to a stop in front of small boat, tethered with just a simple rope. It was old, most likely just left behind based on the growth on the sides and the state of disarray that it was in. It was old and unwanted.

And, for what Karkat needed, it was perfect.

It was rather square shaped, with a metal casing surrounding it. He supposed that it was once a small scouting boat for the army but was abandoned for the newer models that were sleeker, faster, and didn’t stand out so much during the day. It was black, aside from the mentioned growth and bird droppings of course, so that it would blend in with the night better during surveillance.

Karkat sent a halfass apology to Kankri as he led Krabdad inside. Making sure that he was properly situated in the small holding meant for just one to two people at a time, he snuck back out into the night for all the supplies that he could smuggle for the trip.

 ****

 

Getting out of the firenation wasn’t too difficult, at least, not as bad as he had imagined that it would be. With the aid of the abandoned scouter ship, made to glide silently through the water undetected at night, he got past any wandering eyes that might have been looking for him on the water. The guards that he saw were checking the alleys and docked boats, but none were actually on the water like he was.

The sea was harsh and unknown, much different in theory than it was in the books Kankri had forced upon him in lieu of actual schooling with peers. He had a map that he had swiped and he understand the basics of how to read the stars to find his direction, but everything was still just a puzzle with a handful of pieces missing. He thanked every spirit imaginable that he finally figured out how to use the navigation built into the ship. It wasn’t anything too grand, but it could at least point him in the right direction.

He knew that he was getting close as he found that he could see his every breath, puffing up like dragon’s smoke as he slumbered or talked or did whatever he could in the small box. Krabdad grew tired more often, hating the sudden space that he was trapped in and growing depressed with his inability to stretch his legs. Every time Karkat would allow his eyes to close for a small amount of sleep, he would awaken to see the ostrich horse in the same spot that he always was, curled up in a tight ball in an attempt to conserve body heat as the temperatures continued to drop.

One morning, or, at least, Karkat assumed it was morning, since he didn’t feel like opening the crate up to see for himself, Krabdad was breathing heavy and wouldn’t stop quivering.

“K-Krabdad?” Karkat whispered, lightly pressing the palm of his hand against the ostrich horse’s neck. Krabdad’s eyes opened ever so slightly, but the blurred pupils were unable to see him. He shivered hard, jerking his entire body, and then closed his eyes once more.

“Fuck!” Karkat stood, glancing around the small room for anything that he might have missed the last 500 times that he had searched for something to help them fight against the growing cold. “Fuck-Fuck-Fuck!” The albino boy dug his dirty fingers into his pale locks, twisting them as panic began to rise up his throat. “I need to get you warm. I need… I need…”

The boy stopped. He stopped pacing. He stopped tugging. He stopped breathing.

Just for a second as his mind fell silent except for one piercing idea.

“Okay.” He released his grip on himself and turned to face Krabdad. “Okay. Let this be real, just for now. Just… fuck… shit… let this not be a lie right now…” He punched the air upward. “C-Come on!” He did it again with the same results. “Come on!” Once more. Twice more. Over and over again until his arms started to get tired. He wasn’t really sure how to do this, since he hadn’t been expose to anyone who could do it… or… at least… he thought that he hadn’t…

Try again.

He doubted that anything was going to happen, even though part of him prayed it would for Krabdad’s sake, and his own. Maybe he couldn’t’ do it, just like he always couldn’t. maybe this was all just a bad dream. Maybe none of this was real. Maybe he wasn’t really fleeing the only home that he had ever known. Maybe his nation wasn’t after him. Maybe Kankri hadn’t lied about who he was for years and practically held him captive. Maybe-

Flames burst from his hand.

Krabdad twitched at the sudden rush of heat, raising his head as best as he could to follow the fading comfort. He squawked and let his head fall back onto the floor.

Karkat was silent. He stood still, hand raised in the air, for what felt like an eternity before he finally began moving again. He gathered up small fragments of supply boxes and other small items that would not be missed. Once piled up high enough away from everything else, he set them ablaze.

Krabdad squawked in joy, using his remaining strength to crawl closer to the fire, allowing it to warm him to the bones.

Karkat moved to the other side of the ship and sat with his back against the wall. He wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his head upon them.

And then he wept.

**Author's Note:**

> I am not abandoning my fairytalestuck stories. I am still dedicated to them and am so sorry that I haven't updated them in a long time. I got busy with school and Christmas, but I plan to not only update Karkat's story within the next week or so, but I also want to make a fanart "story" where I will put the fanart for the... stories... (I don't think there is a simpler way to explain this).  
> This is really short, but the later chapters will be longer.


End file.
